Venerable Cyril the Abbot of Novoezersk (Novgorod). Wooden orthodox icon.
Saint Kirill was born to pious parents in the city of Galich. Already as a youth, he strove for the monastic life. Secretly leaving his parents' home, he went to the monastery of Saint Cornelius (in the Vologda Komelsky forest), which his parents often told him about. On the way to this monastery, Kirill met a certain elder who, having inquired about the purpose of his journey, blessed his intention to go to Saint Cornelius and then became invisible.
Saint Cornelius very favorably received Kirill and tonsured him a monk. The young monk zealously began to live the monastic life.
Meanwhile, Kirill's parents had already lost all hope of finding him and even began to consider him dead, but then they learned from a Komelsky monk about the whereabouts of their son. Then Kirill's father went to the monastery of Saint Cornelius. Cornelius, but here he did not recognize his son in the strict faster, and when he later recognized Kirill in him, he himself took monastic vows under the name of Barsanuphius. Kirill's mother also took monastic vows before her death.
After the death of his father, Kirill, having distributed the property left to the poor after him, went north, into the wilderness of the forests, to lead a completely solitary life here. The life of the saint was harsh in these deserts, where only grass and tree bark could serve as his food. From here he sometimes came to worship the holy places in the Novgorod and Pskov regions. Since his body gradually began to weaken in his exploits, he prayed to the Lord to show him a place of permanent residence. The fervent prayer of the ascetic was heard, and, obeying the heavenly command, St. Kirill went to Beloozero. Here from one mountain he saw the New Lake and on it the Red Island. An angel appeared to the ascetic in a dream and gave him the indication that God had chosen a place for him to live here. Awakening from sleep, Cyril firmly decided to found a monastery for God on Krasny Island, for which purpose he soon acquired the said island from local peasants; then he built a cell and two churches here. At the same time, he was ordained a priest.
Cyril zealously labored in prayer and fasting in his new place, enduring many sorrows from demons and evil people. The local fishermen were especially annoying to the ascetic. His monastery was also disturbed by robbers, who roamed the forests and roads of Rus' in great numbers at that time. But even these outcasts of this world were affected by the moral heights of the holy ascetic. Once, when they sailed to Krasny Island, the monk addressed them with a stern denunciation. The predators, frightened by this, begged the saint to forgive them. Another time, thieves took the bell from the church and wanted to cross to the other bank, but they got lost. Kirill, who met them, denounced their greed and pointed out that even “a earned slice of bread is better than a stolen loaf,” that “a thief is not rich, but hunchbacked.” Then, having fed them, he sent them away in peace. This had such an effect on the villains that they no longer disturbed the peace of the new monastery.
The life of Saint Kirill in the monastery was an example and model for the other brothers in everything. He denied himself all the blessings of life, walked barefoot, sometimes even in the most severe frosts, chopped wood and dug the earth himself. For his righteous life, Kirill was granted by God the special grace of the Holy Spirit and the gift of healing. Once, the disciple of the monk Dionysius saw that a deacon was serving the liturgy with him, who then suddenly disappeared. The monk forbade him to tell about this miraculous phenomenon. Around the same time, a prince was healed from a serious illness through his prayers, and in gratitude for this, he ordered that 40 measures of rye, as well as a sufficient amount of oil and salt, be given to the monastery of the saint every year. Before his death, Saint Kirill, with great foresight, predicted the disasters that the Russian land was destined to experience. “There will be,” he said, “great troubles on earth and rebellion among people; but,” he added, “our kingdom will be pacified and established by God.” The holy ascetic died in peace on February 4, 1532.
Soon after, signs of his special closeness to the Lord were revealed. Thus, when a monk named Kiriak fell ill, Saint Kirill appeared to him in a dream and, having blessed him with the sign of the cross, healed him of his illness. Then he healed another monk named Macarius. This healing is especially striking and deserves the extraordinary attention of all believers. Macarius was punished by God for his wayward, bad character by being unable to eat or sleep. When he was brought to the grave of the saint, he fell to the ground in agony. Then the monks who had brought him laid him on the very grave of the saint – and the sick man immediately woke up completely healthy. Many other healings occurred through prayers to St. Cyril, our tireless intercessor before God.
The relics of this righteous man were found incorrupt during the laying of the foundation of a new church in his monastery, which was being built according to a vow by the boyar Morozov, who received salvation from many troubles through prayers to the holy ascetic.
🖼 Product Features
• Printed on durable MDF wood panel
• Mineral pigment inks for long-lasting color
• Sealed with protective beeswax finish
• Ready to hang — includes mounted metal hook
• Handmade by Orthodox Christian artisans
• Lightweight yet solid: board thickness is 1.6 cm (0.6")
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